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Old 06-07-2017, 03:05 PM   #1
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Loading the Fiamma Bike Rack

After trying the four possible combinations of loading two dissimilar bikes on the rack, this seems to be the best solution. With the bikes this way, I can get both of the provided block clamps to have a good grip on the bars. There is some frame contact down near the axles, but I think I can cushion that with a piece of an old inner tube.

I still need to secure them with the provided safety strap, or some bungee cords. Has anyone come up with a slick solution for securing them on the rack?

Anyone have a neat solution to lock the bikes to the rack?

I was going to order a cover for the bikes to keep road spray off, but I think that would obscure the tail lights too much. Anyone, addressed that problem?

Randy
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Old 06-07-2017, 03:44 PM   #2
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Looks great!
I love and hate these bike racks at the same time, first thing is to pull the small plastic covers where the top tubes attach to the AS, make sure that the bracket is riveted/screwed right on the top of the seam and they are secured into the frame rib. It is important that this connection point is solid and check it often, if this part becomes disconnected, the bikes will fall to the ground and be destroyed.
I have seen people drill a hole in their rear bumper to run a lock cable though, but I just cable through the rack tubes, if in doubt do not leave the bikes on the rack.
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Old 06-07-2017, 03:49 PM   #3
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Loading the Fiamma Bike Rack

Silver-

Looks good to me. Ours have ridden everywhere we've had our Pete since we bought him over 3 years ago. And we've never secured nor locked ours outside of the Fiamma straps you show in use.

We're on night 8 and about 1000 miles of a state park loop around NE Alabama and back down NW Georgia to home with no issues from the rack. I like it very much.
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Old 06-08-2017, 05:54 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vintagemotor View Post
Looks great!

I love and hate these bike racks at the same time, first thing is to pull the small plastic covers where the top tubes attach to the AS, make sure that the bracket is riveted/screwed right on the top of the seam and they are secured into the frame rib. It is important that this connection point is solid and check it often, if this part becomes disconnected, the bikes will fall to the ground and be destroyed.

I have seen people drill a hole in their rear bumper to run a lock cable though, but I just cable through the rack tubes, if in doubt do not leave the bikes on the rack.


I had mine installed at the Airstream Service Center, and watched the process. I have a friend who had his installed by some amateur and what you described is what happened to him. I will be checking mine though just to be safe.
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Old 06-08-2017, 03:19 PM   #5
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Agree the bikes are difficult to load properly and secure - and about the tailights too. I called fiama there is supposedly a tailight bar but could never get it ordered and finally dropped it. Their catalog also had a large safety symbol that supposedly is required in Europe. We had a custom cover made to fit over the bike tops so the tail lights are still visible. I also bought a lighted license plate holder and mounted it on the bottom bar and ran wires from the existing plate lights so it can be seen.
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Old 06-08-2017, 05:12 PM   #6
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I elected to pass on the Fiamma on my 2017 AS and have been loading the two bikes into my full size F250 TV. But honestly it's a little bit of a pain. I'd like to hear pros and cons of the Fiamma. Thanks
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Old 06-09-2017, 07:50 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VaTravelers View Post
I elected to pass on the Fiamma on my 2017 AS and have been loading the two bikes into my full size F250 TV. But honestly it's a little bit of a pain. I'd like to hear pros and cons of the Fiamma. Thanks
Pros:
Lightweight, bikes go on/off easy (once you set it up), ratchet tie downs, long adjustable tire rails, did I mention it was lightweight?

Cons:
Installation, attachment location, drilling holes in your AS, blocks emergency exit window, blocks tail lights, blocks rear cargo compartment, very low maximum carry weight (no E-bikes), the top rack tubes are attached with the smallest bolts possible.

This is a great bike rack for most and not for some, if that makes any sense.

When I was in Jackson Center of the Universe, I asked why they don't offer a small class I receiver to put in a Thule or Yakima hitch rack and they almost excommunicated me, "Installing a receiver to the rear bumper immediately voids the warranty".
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Old 11-17-2017, 03:44 PM   #8
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I know this may not be practical but if you are in the market for a new tow vehicle, check out the Dodge Ram with Ram Box features. Inside the bed on each side come with racks which adjust (knobs) so you can easily transport two or more bikes inside the bed along the sides. I use bike tubes and giant twist ties to secure and a cable to lock. Also I have installed a tailgate pad to fit bike front tires over the top of the tail gate (pads fasten to down tubes). I can carry 4-6 bikes but towing is dicey because tight turns will catch the wheel on the propane cover. Cheerio! Jim
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Old 11-17-2017, 04:04 PM   #9
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This is the 3rd of 4 AS's we have had with the Fiama. We used to carry the bikes in the back of our Tahoe, then on top. What a pain. The Fiama is good and bad, as noted. Your pictures look like what we do. We also just run the cable lock over the Fiama rails. When stopped for more than a night, we typically unload and lock bikes to bumper. No real difficult issues for us. I think Fiama is about as good as you can do without a custom rack of some sort.
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Old 11-17-2017, 04:49 PM   #10
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I like our Fiama carrier. Once you figure out how to get them both loaded on, they tie down nicely. We use the safety strap which gives it some additional stability and we tie it in to the rack itself. If something breaks, the bikes will not go down.

I also lock mine with a cable that goes over the rack.

One of the big cons, at least for some folks, is that the forks will rub together. I probably should have protected them with some foam or rubber but I didn't. We now have scratches that are visible but they don't bother me in the least. These might really kill others, especially if you have a very nice expensive ones.
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Old 11-18-2017, 05:17 AM   #11
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To keep the forks from contacting each other and scratching, I put a piece of old inner tube over one of the forks on each bike. Pretty easy to install and remove with quick-release hubs.
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Old 11-18-2017, 05:18 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverCabin View Post
To keep the forks from contacting each other and scratching, I put a piece of old inner tube over one of the forks on each bike. Pretty easy to install and remove with quick-release hubs.


...front forks....
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Old 02-02-2018, 08:31 PM   #13
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Sorry to hijack this thread but there are some very knowledgeable people on here so maybe someone will answer my question. This is regarding the two mounting blocks (tube grippers) on the Fiamma. The long one on my rack rotates near the end like if the block is your hand, the rotating would be like rotating your wrist.

The problem is that my smaller mounting block will not rotate from the horizontal to vertical position. The dealer says that it will rotate if you really twist it. I am afraid the red plastic will break.

Has anyone seen this extremely tight "wrist" on their mounting arm?
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Old 04-18-2018, 09:03 AM   #14
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tight mounting block

Mine was that way also. it was very hard to rotate but it does rotate if you work at it. Work it back and forth and it will finally loosen up.
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Old 04-18-2018, 11:13 AM   #15
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We too carry our bikes everywhere and the Fiamma has worked just fine (maybe not great...as others have said but I haven't seen anything better, for us).
Loading the bikes can be a bit tricky - with our mountain bikes I need to have them pointed in opposite directions but with our "cross=over" bikes they point in the same way - just how they fit. But in both cases I needed to extend the top bracket (holding the rear bikie in place) so they would not rub against each other. I did so with a piece of PVC (3/4" schedule 40 works nicely) to replace the aluminum piping.
We have never taken additional steps (cable lock around the bikes) for security nor have we felt the need to cover them - doing so might trap as much dust as it keeps off and the bikes are relatively weatherproof (and we are here in the Pacific NW!!)
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Old 04-18-2018, 11:31 AM   #16
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Bike rack

Have used the bike rack a lot. Our bikes have gone with us all over the east coast. Once u have it set up it works great. We cover the seats and the handlebars with garbage bags. We tie them good to keep the bags from flopping around. So far it has worked well. Eventually I am going to have covers for the handlebars(to protect the shifters) and the seats made.
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Old 04-18-2018, 12:53 PM   #17
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I have the Fiamma installed on both our 19' and our 23FB. Works well. I have offset the tire rails and this seems to allow the bikes to ride closer together, in opposite directions.

The rack does not cover the tail lights or license plate any more or less than any rear mounted bike rack.
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Old 04-18-2018, 03:14 PM   #18
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Off setting the rails is the trick.
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Old 04-18-2018, 04:03 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pfcardwell View Post
Off setting the rails is the trick.
that is exactly how mine looks!

The only other modification I have considered is bolting a hollow base cleat to the bumper and running a strap up and over the top bar of the rack to add another layer of support just in case the horizontal brackets should fail.
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Old 04-18-2018, 05:34 PM   #20
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I have a bungee cord going from rear awing support wrap around rack to other awing support for added support. 23fb.
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